


Of Honey & Beaus

by mrsilikemyself



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: & Some Serious Talk, Critical Role Relationship Week, Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans, When Will I Write A Fic That Isn't In A Way About A Baby Gay's Awakening, vaguely canon compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2019-05-25 03:14:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14967923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrsilikemyself/pseuds/mrsilikemyself
Summary: When Beau is eight and nothing but a spindly pile of malcontent with an unspoken urge to run away, she plays in a forest at the edge of her town.





	Of Honey & Beaus

**Author's Note:**

  * For [spoolesofthread](https://archiveofourown.org/users/spoolesofthread/gifts).



> yall: isnt it curious how beau is into yasha but not jester?  
> me, an intellectual: beau met lady vex'ahlia de rolo, The Coolest Woman Ever, as a child and was never the same
> 
> anyways this is both my first and second critrole relationship week fic bc i got beau & trinket and then beau & vex and made it One Big Fic
> 
> thank u to petey for editing this, to mikey for being my bfffl (best friend for fucking life), to grace for getting me into critrole nd making sure my vex is okay and to spencer for Also getting me into critrole.......... i dedicate this fic to u..............
> 
> ALSO WHOEVER WORKS ON THE CRITROLE WIKIA URE ALL GODS AMONG HUMANS

When Beau is eight and nothing but a spindly pile of malcontent with an unspoken urge to run away, she plays in a forest at the edge of her town. Her mother hates it (would prefer it if she played in the town square with the other kids, or better, if she would stay at home and like, read, or some shit) but she hates it more when Beau fights whoever “looks at her weird” and so they have reached a tacit agreement. Mud and dirt in her clothes trump blood in her clothes and trees don’t look and most definitely don’t bleed. 

So Beau spends her days after her lessons climbing and jumping and running. She plays with sticks like they are swords and skips stones in the small lake and doesn’t so much as think about manners. Sometimes when her back itches and she can’t reach she can even rub against the rough bark like a bear. 

In the forest, Beau may as well be a bear, really. The adults in town talk of it as though it’s chock full of dangerous, scary monsters but Beau knows better: there’s nothing but birds that are only heard, never seen, the same way her father says Beau is back at home; some ducks and frogs by the lake; and bunnies the color of the earth that run to hide in the underbrush when she turns to take a good look. Yes, there are boars, too, ugly and enormous, and those are dangerous but Beau learned her lesson the first time she saw one and now she gives them a wide berth. Nature is a classroom, Beau thinks sagely, and at least this one has no grammar involved.

What there is more of in the forest is bugs. Delicate butterflies fly around; worms are buried in the moist earth; mosquitos, unfortunately, swarm the lake; and, above all, there are bees. 

Beau finds a flower field one day. It’s lush and very pretty and literally buzzing with bees. She edges the field warily until she finds their ginormous home hidden between the branches of a tree and stops in her tracks. She doesn’t think she’s ever seen a hive this big, as big as she is, it looks like. This close the buzzing is deafening and, from a corner that seems a bit broken, a trickle of honey drips down. She eyes it carefully, considering. Her fingers itch to reach forward and touch. At home, they don’t really eat honey.

The moment she so much as inclines forward, though, something changes and Beau has the distinct impression that the bees are all looming over her and decides that a strategic retreat is the best course of action. 

They chase her all the way to the lake where Beau jumps with wild desperation into the water and holds her breath as she waits for them to leave. The time passes and her eyes itch from keeping them open and her lungs burn as if she had been running for hours, but then, finally, the bees retreat and Beau springs up to take a giant gulp of air. She yells a triumphant “Ha!”, then blinks the water out of her eyes to find a very big bear calmly laying down close by. Its fur is greying and, for some reason, it seems to be wearing armour. Beau retreats carefully, ready to go home with her tail between her legs, but the animal gets up and starts to walk towards her and before she realizes that she’s trapped herself in a corner she feels reeds tickle her neck. The bear yawns as it comes forward, probably stretching her maw to better be able to bite Beau with those enormous teeth. 

“Fuck,” says Beau, a shiver going down her back. She gets into a semblance of a fighting stance, anyway, ready to die.

The animal reaches her, sniffs, and opens its mouth. Beau closes her eyes instinctively but the only thing she feels is its tongue as it gives her a good lick. She opens her eyes, breathing harshly, her clothes clinging to her and weighing her down, making her feel even tinier next to the hulk of an animal that stares at her with dark eyes.

“Fuck,” she repeats. “What the fuck.”

Is it is tasting me? she thinks, and, frowning, proceeds to punch it as hard as she can in the nose. The animal recoils, surprised, and gets up on its rear legs with a huff. Beau is very tired of nature and parents alike looming over her and she yells out and gives it a kick in the shin before promptly starting to cry. The bear hesitates but comes down back to her level and carefully rubs its face against hers like it is some sort of cat. 

“I’m the only bear in this forest,” says Beau between sobs and the bear clicks its tongue soothingly and licks her tears away.

Beau, who at the end of the day is a child, hugs the bear’s neck hard. She’s cold but the animal exudes warmth like it is its particular job and she feels safe against it even in the middle of this lake. When she stops crying, she sniffs one last time and passes a hand under her nose to get rid of her snot. The bear looks at her and she looks at the bear.

“Thanks,” she ends up saying and the bear huffs again, as if to say no worries.

Now that she’s calmer she can see there are engravings in the edges of the armour, a bit worn-down but still recognizable. «Vox Machina» it says, and then «Trinket».

“Trinket,” reads Beau out loud. The bear looks at her. “Is that your name?”

The animal roars softly and Beau decides to take that as a yes. 

“That’s cool,” she says. “I’m Beau. Like Beauregard. No first name because mine’s prissy and boring.”

Trinket blinks and Beau goes on talking.

“Are you, like, a girl bear? A boy bear?” she asks, but it just looks confused. “Maybe a bear bear, then?” 

She scratches behind its ears and it closes its eyes in pleasure.

“I’m just gonna go with boy,” decides Beau, for reasons. 

She’s never heard of who this Vox Machina may be but if they have an armed bear they are probably an adventurer. Trinket is probably here on an adventure which is honestly the sickest thing Beau has ever imagined. She thinks of asking what he’s doing here and then realizes she’s talking to a bear and shuts her mouth closed.

Trinket grows tired of standing in the lake and calmly walks out to shake the water off. Beau follows him and tries her best at doing the same but only achieves to make Trinket guffaw at her.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” She rolls her eyes. 

Still laughing, Trinket very carefully grabs Beau’s sleeve with his teeth and drags her into the forest in a familiar direction. Time has passed and once they get to the buzzing clearing, Beau can see the sky is slowly darkening. She should be getting home soon. They carefully approach the tree and stop at a cautious distance. There seem to be even more bees now than before, somehow, and both bear and kid frown thoughtfully at the situation.

“We should get a plan,” sighs Beau finally and Trinket sits down with a thud. 

Beau walks around the tree, assessing.

“Maybe just a distraction and then we run? Maybe that will work,” she says.

She turns towards the bear again but he isn’t where he sat down. There’s a wet cracking sound and Beau looks at the tree to find Trinket on his back paws, half of the hive in his mouth, ready to start barreling down in her direction, an angry cloud of bees behind him. 

“Or that. That’s cool, too!” she says and starts running towards the lake again, yelling, “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” all the way through. 

She feels a sting in her arm and soon after another in her leg and then Trinket comes stomping by her side, so hard the earth trembles. Beau nearly trips over a stupid root but she rights herself and makes a last sprint and beautiful jump into the water. Bees buzz threateningly above her head. She hopes Trinket and the honey are okay. Under the cool lake the stings that had started to swell and pulse calm down minimally. Beau waits as patiently as she can for the situation to relax before coming back up.

“Trinket?” she asks cautiously once she can breathe again. “Hello?”

From the shore Trinket answers with a victorious growl, the hive dripping honey on the ground by his side and Beau laughs and half swims, half runs to him.

“You did it!” she says as he engulfs her in a literal bear hug. “We fucking did it!”

“You did what, darling?” says a voice behind her, then, accented and mature.

If bears could lose all colour in their face in fear, Trinket would look like chalk right now. But they can’t, so instead Beau is the one to turn, terrified, and face a woman dressed in dark leathers with a bow at her back, her hands at her hips and her eyebrow arched.

“Uuh,” says Beau, who feels like she’s having a revelation.

Behind her, Trinket groans and belatedly tries to hide the hive behind his paw.

The newcomer impassively watches his poor attempts at stealth and then her eyes run over Beau. Beau feels a shiver go down her neck. She’s never met a woman quite like this.

“I’m Beau,” she squeaks “Like Beauregard. But short.”

The woman smiles.

“Pleasure to meet you, Beau. I’m Vex'ahlia, but you can call me Vex.” She pauses, her smile turning sharp. “I just have one question, dear: did you and my bear, who knows he can’t eat honey anymore, steal a hive?”

“Uuh,” says Beau again, pressing herself against Trinket, her eyes wide like the two moons in the night sky. “No?”

Vex sighs and looks scarily angry.

“Trinket…” she says threateningly. Trinket crumbles.

He moans pathetically as he reveals the hive again for his mistress.

“You can’t take it! It’s not yours!” says Beau. “And, and it’s already, like, dead, what are the bees gonna do with it now?”

Vex sighs again and moves towards it but Beau steps between Vex and their prize and after a moment of hesitation so does Trinket, standing next to her on his back paws.

“Shouldn’t you be home with your parents?” asks Vex, her lips a thin line.

“Yes,” answers Beau without pause. “But I’m not.”

Vex stops. She gives Beau a once-over like she’s seeing her for the first time and Beau, absolutely drenched as she is, juts out her chin, daring the woman to say something.

“Of course,” Vex finally mutters. She claps her hands. “Then let's have a picnic here. All three of us.”

“What?” says Beau, surprised. She clears her throat. “I mean, yeah, that’s, uh, that’s cool.”

Vex sits gracefully on the ground, leaving her bow and arrows by her side, and Trinket lays down close to her knee. She rolls her eyes. “Adorable,” she mutters and taps the space next to her.

“Come sit down, then, I have some bread. And bring the hive,” she says to Beau.

Beau is a scrawny kid but she knows how to use her knees, especially when she wants to impress someone, and she carries the hive to the centre of their little group before sitting down not next to Vex but to Trinket’s warm, furry stomach. The animal immediately curls around her possessively.

“Ha,” laughs Vex, reaching to pat Trinket on his side. “My children won’t let you do this anymore so you went and found a new one?”

Trinket sets a paw over Beau’s thigh and groans, mournful and long, making Vex laugh more. Beau stares, her mouth a little bit open in awe. She has soft laugh lines around her eyes and her pose is elegant and effortless even sitting down in the middle of the forest, like her mother says ladies always are, but she still looks alert, like she knows of battle. Their eyes meet, then, and Beau averts hers.

“What’s Vox Machina?” she asks, reaching for the honey in an attempt to dissimulate. She licks her fingers, golden with the sticky, glorious mess that tastes like wildflowers and fresh air, and looks at Vex from the corner of her eye as the woman brings a bag out from what feels like nowhere and opens it to reveal bread and cheese.

“We were adventurers, a long time ago,” Vex says as she gives some of her food to Beau. “My brother, myself, and our friends.”

Behind them, Trinket groans and growls, and both Beau and Vex roll their eyes but it’s the girl who reaches for the hive first and breaks off a corner. He eats it off her hand, wax and all, and licks her face as a thank you when he’s done. When Beau looks back, Vex is looking at her, eyes seeming far away, but she breaks into a smile soon enough.

“We killed dragons, in Vox Machina, and fought gods,” Vex continues. “We travelled Exandria and helped who we could and,” here she smirks, brilliantly, “we won a lot of gold.”

The bread is soft, sweet with the honey and cheese, and Beau moans when she bites in.

“Is it good, darling?” laughs Vex.

“So worth it,” mutters Beau with her mouth full. “Why are you not adventurers anymore? If I was an adventurer I would never stop.”

Vex bites into her own bread and cheese and chews for a moment before answering.

“It stopped being what we wanted to do, I believe. We killed monsters until ours were the only ones left and, well, my brother died, I got married, and all our friends did, too,” she says very softly. “At the end, I guess we just grew tired of it.” 

“I’m sorry...” says Beau.

“It’s okay. It was not the first time someone close to me died.” She smiles. “One time, I was the one that died.” 

Beau stops eating and stares at her.

“It is a hard life, darling, as fun as it can be,” she continues with thoughtful eyes. “Not that I think you would care about that in particular, Beau.”

“That’s not, I don’t -” flounders Beau. “My mother wouldn’t let me!”

Vex laughs and it sounds distinctly sad in the quiet of the forest; then Trinket puts his head on her knee and growls softly, calling for her attention.

“Oh, my Trinket!” sighs Vex, running a hand through his fur. “My dear, most adorable companion! Don’t go running like that again, you old fool! You know you can’t keep up with kids anymore.” 

Trinket huffs warm breath against her face but he turns his head to make it easier for her to pet him.

“You’ve known each other for, like, really long, right?” wonders Beau, swallowing her last bite of cheese.

“Yes, we have. Since he was a cub, weren’t you, Trinket? The cutest bear cub.” She grabs his head and stares into his eyes. “Since I saved him from some poachers that had killed his mother and stuck me in a cage.” She shivers minutely and says, “Oh, I don’t think I had ever told that to anyone but my husband, before.”

Beau breathes deeply and, with a trembling hand, scritches behind Trinket’s ear.

“Did you kill them?” she asks.

Vex blinks and looks up, serious and resigned.

“I did,” she says and then she clears her throat. “You shouldn’t eat this much before dinner, darling.”

“But I want more,” Beau wrinkles her nose. “I’m eight, I’m grown up, I can choose.”

Vex laughs and drags the hive closer to Trinket for him to munch. 

“Come on,” she says. “Wash your hands at the lake and let’s get you home.”

Beau grumbles but does as she’s told.

“I’m not a kid.” She says and Trinket groans in agreement, happily chewing.

Beau laughs a bit at his snout buried in the hive as a hand crawls instinctively to scratch at the bee stung in her arm but Vex is quicker and grabs her wrist to stop her.

“Oh, why hadn’t you said, darling?” she says. “Let me help.”

Beau stares in awe again as Vex, the coolest woman she’s ever met, murmurs some words that sound like the wind between the trees and the ache recedes as if it had never been there in the first place.

“Woah,” she says. “You’re so cool.”

“Thank you,” laughs Vex. “Come on, now, get on Trinket’s back, he will carry you home. This way, he can burn all that honey he wasn’t supposed to eat.”

Trinket groans but stays still and quiet when Beau approaches him.

“Seriously, the coolest,” continues Beau as she climbs the animal carefully. “You have a bear in armour, you know magic, you’ve fought dragons, you’re, like, so pretty…”

“Aw, thank you, darling.” Vex smiles and Beau turns beet red.

“It’s just true,” she half yells half-whispers. “Right?”

Trinket growls in amused agreement and lets Beau hide her face in his fur.

They walk in silence, Beau only talking to give directions as night approaches and it gets darker and darker. They reach the edge of town when they can barely see each other and Beau breathes in and out deeply before carefully coming down of Trinket. She gives him a hug and the bear licks her face again and they both laugh. Then she turns towards Vex and hesitates.

“Thank you for the food and, uh, everything else,” she says, going for a hug around her midriff.

“It was my pleasure.” Smiles Vex, hugging back, and then Beau can feel her hesitate. Vex grabs her by the shoulders and stares into her face. 

“When my brother and I left our father’s home, we had had no one but each other for years already and still called loneliness a choice,” she murmurs. “When your time comes, darling, you may feel as if you don’t need anyone anymore, too, but it won’t be true. I hope you find people you can trust in, Beauregard.”

The night air feels grave as she speaks and Beau listens like she hasn’t listened to an adult in years. After, Vex hugs her again. 

“Stay safe, and if you’re ever in Tal’Dorei, you have an ally in Whitestone,” she says sounding lighter again. “You better come to visit if you’re around.”

“I promise,” smiles Beau. “Good night.”

The night closes down and they go their separate ways and not even the gods know if they will ever see each other again.

**Author's Note:**

> What Is Vex Doing In Wildemount You May Ask shes buying wine with her husband whom she loves very much bc they r rich ppl nd rich ppl do weird things like travelling to a different country to buy wine
> 
> u can find me @/gaymersion on the good ol tumblr and @/mesamargant on twitter


End file.
